ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER Volume-8 | Issue-7 | July - 2019 | PRINT ISSN No. 2277 - 8179 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

PATIENT PERCEPTION AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ANAESTHESIOLOGY AT A TERTIARY CARE SERVICE

Anaesthesiology Dr Ramandeep MD, Assoc Prof (Anaesthesiology), Deputy Commandant, Command Hospital Western Singh Ahluwalia Command, Chandimandir Cantonment, Panchkula-134107, Haryana Dr Saurabh MD, DNB, MNAMS, Asst Prof, Dept of Anaesthesiology, Command Hospital (Central Khurana* Command), Lucknow-226002, Uttar Pradesh *Corresponding Author ABSTRACT Aim: To assess the knowledge about Anaesthesiology among patients at a tertiary care service hospital. Objective: 1. Primary objective: To objectively assess the knowledge about Anaesthesiology amongst patients in a tertiary care centre. 2. Secondary objective: To educate the clientele about the field of Anaesthesiology. KEYWORDS

INTRODUCTION Anaesthesiologist/Technician Anaesthesiology is one of the youngest branches in the medical field e. Is the person administering you anaesthesia a qualified doctor? and has developed exponentially over a short span of time. The f. As per you, how many years of training does an Anaesthesiologist mandate of an Anaesthesiologist is no longer confined to just undergo? conventional Operation Theatre (OT) and the ICU; it has spread out to g. What does an Anaesthesiologist do? critical care units, pain clinics, trauma centres, and resuscitation and i. Decides the fitness for and optimizes you for surgery rescue teams.1 Despite being a speciality, which is widespread and ii. Puts you to sleep extends services to various departments in the hospital, its recognition iii. Provides pain relief during surgery and awareness amongst the clientele is considered to be miniscule. iv. Wakes you up from sleep Also there are myths and incredulity about the field and its v. Monitors you throughout surgery professionals. vi. Responsible for pain relief after surgery vii. All of the above With this thought process, the authors came up with an idea of viii. None of the above objectively assessing, and at the same time edifying the patients about h. During the surgery, who is primarily responsible for your overall the role of Anaesthesiology in the medical world. well being: Surgeon/Anaesthesiologist 3. Are you aware about the type of anaesthesia you will receive? MATERIALS AND METHODS 4. How many types of anaesthesia are you aware of? Study Design: It was a questionnaire-based study on patients 5. Are you aware about the complications of anaesthesia and if yes, scheduled for various surgical procedures under anaesthesia what all complications you are aware of? (general/neuroaxial/regional). A total of 100 patients were interviewed 6. Are you more concerned and scared about the surgery or the in the study. anaesthesia related to it? 7. Are you concerned about waking up from anaesthesia during Place and duration of study: surgery? The survey was performed over a period of 15 days in a tertiary care service hospital. Statistical Analysis The data collected was tabulated using MS Excel, assessed and the Questionnaire: results were expressed as percentages. A simplified questionnaire described as follows was used for the study. Personal Details: RESULTS Ÿ Name The study was skewed towards male gender as expected as it was Ÿ Gender conducted at a service hospital where at any given time the number of Ÿ Education admitted male patients exceeds the female patients. Ÿ Proposed surgery/procedure Table 1: Gender wise distribution Questions: S.No Gender No of patients (%) 1. Have you undergone any surgery/procedure under anaesthesia in the past:Y es/No, If Yes: 1. Male 67 a. Name of surgery/procedure 2. Female 33 b. Type of anaesthesia received Graph 1: c. Who all were present in OT before the procedure started: Surgeon, Anaesthesiologist, Matron, Assistant (tick) d. Who administered you the anaesthesia: Surgeon, Matron, Technician, Anaesthesiologist e. The person who administered you anaesthesia, was he a qualified doctor? Yes/No/Don't Know f. Did he/she visit you prior to surgery? Yes/No 2. If patient has not undergone any procedure under anaesthesia previously: a. Who all are likely to be present in OT when you are taken there: Surgeon, Matron, Anaesthesiologist, Technician b. Will it be a painful procedure? Yes/No/Don't know c. Will you be anaesthetized: Yes/No/Don't know d. Who will be administering you anaesthesia? Surgeon/ Matron/ International Journal of Scientific Research 25 Volume-8 | Issue-7 | July - 2019 PRINT ISSN No. 2277 - 8179

Table2: Age wise distribution primary role of an Anaesthesiologist in the hospital. In the present Majority of the patients were between their second-fourth decades of study we observed the following striking findings: life. 1. 35% of patients were more concerned and worried about the S.No. Age (yrs) No of patients (%) anaesthesia rather than surgery. 1. 21-30 39 2. 28% of patients were not aware about the kind of anaesthesia to be 2. 31-40 26 administered. 3. 41-50 13 3. 54% were not aware that actually an Anaesthesiologist would be administering the anaesthesia. 4. >50 22 Graph 2: These results clearly indicate that the patients posted for surgical procedures under anaesthesia need to be enlightened to improve their understanding about the subject. This would address their apprehension and at the same time prepare them for what lies ahead of them. Good counseling may narrow the gap in the confidence level that a patient perceives with respect to the Surgeon relative to the Anaesthesiologist.2 Secondly, in the era of ever increasing litigations in the medical practice, it is also important to brief the patients about the likely complications associated with the anaesthetic plan. To conclude, for most of the patients, Anaesthesiologists are like 'unseen doctors',3 like a bass guitarist of a band whose presence is Table 3: Literacy Level inconspicuous until his absence! Majority of the patients were at least high school educated, which was beneficial as they were in a better position to understand and respond to Limitations the questionnaire. The present study was conducted at a single centre and a multi centric S.No. Education level No. of patients (%) study would definitely increase its sensitivity. Also, the educational qualification of the patients can greatly influence their general 1. Illiterate 17 perception about the subject. 2. High School 59 3. Graduate 24 REFERENCES 1. Swinhoe CK, Groves ER. Patients’ knowledge of anaesthetic practice & the role of Graph 3: anaesthetists; Anaesthesia1994 Feb., 49(2)165-6. 2. Shevade K, Panagopulos G. A survey of 800 patients’ knowledge, attitudes & concerns regarding anaesthesia; & analgesia 1991 Aug., 73 (2) 190-8. 3. Hume MA, Kennedy B, Asbury AJ. Patient knowledge of anaesthesia & perioperative care; Anaesthesia 1994 Aug., 49 (8) 715-8.

Core of the study has been summarized as follows.

Table 4: Summary of Results S.No. Parameters Percentage 1. % of patients who felt that the person giving 75 anaesthesia was a qualified doctor 2. % of patients concerned about waking up from 9 anaesthesia during the procedure 3. Primary concern/scare related to anaesthesia 35 4. Primary concern/scare related to surgery 46 5. Who would be giving anaesthesia: 50 a) Surgeon 46 b) Anaesthesiologist 3 c) OT Matron 1 d) OT Technician 6. Concerned about waking up from surgery Yes: 9% No: 91% 7. Awareness about type of anaesthesia to be Yes: 72% administered No: 28% DISCUSSION Over the years, despite increasing awareness about setup amongst Indian population, and increasing role of an Anaesthesiologist in critical and effective management of patients, not only the knowledge about Anaesthesiology as a field and its providers remains lacking, there are myths and skepticism. Also, a patient admitted to the hospital for a surgical procedure under anaesthesia is exposed to an alien and a strange environment wherein it is not possible for him to comprehend the role of various care providers associated with him. It is natural and understandable that he relates it more closely to the primary care clinician. We need to enlighten the patient about his expectations as far as the anaesthetic management is concerned.

Various Anaesthesiologists/residents of the department conducted the present study as an oral questionnaire. At the end of the questionnaire, the patients were briefed about Anaesthesiology as a subject and 26 International Journal of Scientific Research